Shoe



April 6, 1932. e. H. BOEHMER 1,855,270

SHOE Fi led Feb. 15, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet l M 1 5 roe G. A. BOEHME/E 14TTOENEV April 26, 1932.

G. H. BOEHMER 1,855,270

SHOE

Filed Feb. 15, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 //Y l/E/Y rap. 6. BOEHME/B ATTORNEYPatented Apr. 26, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT .QF'FI'TCEI GUSTAV-US H.."BOEHMER, .OFJST. LOUIS,1MISSO-URI SHOE Application filed February 15,1928. -Seria1 No. 254,365.

i provide shoeshaving the forepart of theshoe bottom uniformly flexiblethroughout its entire length, and it is only through continual wearingofthe shoe that a line of bend most natural "to "the ioot becomesestablished. Thus, in ,the beginning the stiii shoe bottom,fbeing"reluctant to bend, tires and weakens the foot, and later, when the-shoebottom has-assumed a line-of bend the shoe is badly worn. Furthermore,the gradual wearing down .ofthesoleproduces a bending area in the:region located beneath the junction be tweenthe metatarsals and the,p'halanges, instead of 'a'line of bend, and consequentlythe sole doesvnot 'flex a'longa definite line, but arches with the crown of the archlocated somewhere within the bending area. Accordin-gly, as hereinbeiorementioned, the present invention aims to obviate this objectionablefeatureby providing a-shoe,=the bot- "tom of which is formed with adefinite line along which the shoe bottom bends upon be 'ing flexed.This line is positionedin a predetermined relation, to the junctionbetween the metatarsals and the phalanges whereby the shoe bottom formsa natural hinge for the bones of the 'forepart of the foot.

A jfeature 'of .the invention which aims towards "the accompli'shment ofthe recited obect consists in constructing ashoe bottom in such a.manner that "it will flex most readily along a line extendingtransversely of the lengthwise dimension of the bottom approx- 'imatelybeneath the junction of the metatarsal and phalanx bones of a footmounted 'within the-shoe." Inthe illustrated embodiment of theiinventionthis feature has. been accomplished by molding the shoe:b'ottom parts in such a manner that when assembled the molded partswill occupy a closefitting relat onship to each other, and lines1definitely molded in allxof the parts will coincide vertically with oneanother .in :providing a line of fiex of the assembled shoe bottom.

Inasmuch as a shoe bottom of theviimproved type provides an importantsupportaso for the bottom of the foot; tends "to prevent weakening ortiring of the forepart of the foot brought aboutrby unnaturalfbending;and serves to support gently :and properly an already weakened arch,anuimportant'ifeature of the invention consists in the provisionof ahealth shoe having a raised center arch for fitting snugly up underallparts of the foot, and a molded :line of flex located at the forwardend:of the raised central 'arch'm for acting as a hinge during the use of ashoe. Such a prov-isi'on supports properly the bones of the foot andalso insures that in theuse of the shoe the bones will :bendlina natural:and intended-manner.

Other features and objects :of the inventlon will become apparent from areading of thespec'ification in the light of the accompanymg drawings,in which:

Fig. l is a view in side elevation. having 'no certain partsbrokenawayto show the :construction of the shank of the shoe, i Fig. 2 is a bottomof a shoe havingcertain parts broken :away the more clearly to show theconstruction of the shank,

Fig. 3 'is a view in perspectiwe of an insole employed in the shoe,

vanges P which :are joined together to form" a hinge-like structurepermitting the bending of the foot. As hereinbefore pointed out, anobject of the invention is to provide an improved shoe having a bottomwhich will flex readily along the line located approximately directlybeneath the junction between the metatarsals and the phalanges, andaccordingly an out-sole'10 is molded to form a sharp break, or line ofbending 12 which extends transversely of the lengthwise dimension ofthei shoe as shown more clearly in Figs. 4 an 5.

This line 12 is located approximately in vertical alinement with thejunction of the metatarsals and phalanges of a person wearing the shoe,or if not in vertical alinement, then in such a position relatively tothe junctions that the shoe bottom supports the foot and permits it tobe bent in the most natural manner. As shown in Fig. 1, the line is located slightly in the rear of the junction and is curved to similate thecurvature of a line drawn through the five junctions of the forepartbones.

Inasmuch as it is desirable that all of the bottom parts of theshoe beso constructed as to permit the forepart of the shoe to bend readilyalong the line 12 upon being flexed, the various parts of the shoebottom are molded similarly to the manner in which the outsole ismolded. Such a provision permits the parts of the shoe bottom to beassembled, as shown in Fig. 1, with a line of bending formed in each ofthe bottom parts, these parts being so assembled that the lines ofbending are in vertical alinement. Thus an insole 14 may be molded toform a sharp break 16, as shown in Fig. 3. Also, since a metal shankstiffener or arch support which extended between the out-sole and theinsole and spanned the line of break in those parts would interfere withthe bending action of the shoe bottom along the line of break, there isprovided a shank piece 18 the forward end of which terminates in therear of the lines 12 and 16. A wedge piece 20 of leather, fiber board orother suitable material is interposed between the forward edge of theshank piece 18 and the outsole 10 to prevent the metal piece frominjuring the out-sole and this Wedge piece is likewise molded along theline 22 to render the piece freely resilient along that line in orderthat it will bend in unison and harmony with the other parts of the shoebottom.

Thus it will be seen that the entire shoe bottom is so constructed thatupon being flexed (as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 1 the forepart willbend along the break that is molded in the shoe parts of the bottom. Itis to be expressly understood that while this feature is carried out inthe illustrated embodiment of the invention by means of molding thebottom parts, the invention contemplates forming them in any suitablemanner so long as there will be established a definite line along whichthe shoe bottom will bend upon being flexed. This might be done bymaking the shoes parts relatively thin along the line in question, orgrooving the parts along this line, by cutting a gash in them along theline, etc., or forming the insole in two parts.

In the construction of a shoe embodying the invention the wedge piecemay be secured to the shank piece in any suitable manner, as, forexample, by riveting, cementing, etc.

As already pointed out the invention is adaptable to health shoesinasmuch as it permits the foot and the shoe to bend easily in the mostnatural manner. Accordingly the drawings illustrate a shoe, the centralarch portion of which is raised as shown at 23 (Fig. 6) whereby the footis so supported that the bone structure is neither crowded together norcollapsed. To further carry out the idea of firmly supporting the archso that all parts of the foot are in snug enga ement with the bottom ofthe shoe, the shan piece 18 is curved both longitudinally andtransversely and the outer-sole of the shoes is arched transversely asshown at 24. A shoe of this type, having its shank arched bothlongitudinally and transversely, can be built on a last such for exampleas that disclosed in my United States Letters Patent No. 1,57 5,527granted March 2, 1926.

Thus it will be seen that the shoe is constructed in a way that bestsupports the bones of the foot and also in such a manner that in walkingthe bones bend naturally and this bending is not opposed by thestiffness of the shoe bottom as occurs in shoes today, but is assistedby means of the breaks that are molded in the bottom parts.

It is to be understood, of course, that the invention may be embodiedwith equal facilities in shoes of all styles, for example, Goodyearwelts, McKays, turns, stitch-downs, etc. Furthermore, it is to bedistinctly understood that the term line as herein used is notrestricted to a knife-edge line but includes likewise an area resemblinga narrow strip when that area is rendered resilient or easily fiexibleduring the manufacture of a shoe, for the purpose of providing the shoebottom with a hinge.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A shoe comprising, in combination, an upper, and a bottom secured tothe upper, all of the parts of the bottom being formed with breakslocated in vertical alinement with one another approximately directlybeneath the junction between the metatarsal and phalangeal bones of afoot mounted within the shoe, said breaks being in the form of curvedlines extended transversely of the shoe from one side thereof to theother.

2. A shoe comprising, in combination, an

upper, an outsole, and an insole arranged above the outsole, the outsoleand the insole being provided with vertically coincident lines of breaklocated approximately directly beneath the joints between themeta-tarsal and phalangeal bones of a foot mounted within the shoe, saidlines of break being in the form of curved lines extended transverselyof the shoe from one side thereof to the other.

3. A shoe comprising, in combination, an upper, an outsole, and aninsole arranged above the outsole, the outsole and the insole beingprovided with vertically coincident molded lines of break locatedapproximately directly beneath the joints between the metatarsal andphalangeal bones of a foot mounted within the shoe, said lines of breakbeing in the form of curved lines extended transversely of the shoe fromone side thereof to the other.

4. A shoe comprising, in combination, an upper, an outsole secured tothe upper, an insole arranged above the outsole, the outsole and theinsole being formed with vertically coincident lines of break, and ashank stiffener disposed between the outsole and the insole, the forwardedgeof the shank stiffener terminating in the rear of the lines of breakin the outsole and the insole, said lines of break being in the form ofcurved lines extended transversely of the shoe from one side thereof tothe other.

5. A shoe comprising, in combination, an upper, an outsole having amolded line of break extending approximately directly beneath the jointsof the metatarsal and phalangeal bones of a foot mounted within theshoe, an insole, ashankstifiener interposed between the insole and theoutsole, the for- Ward edge of the shank stiffener terminating in therear of the line of break in the outsole, and a member positioned at theforward edge of the shank stiffener to protect the outsole from injuryby the forward edge of said shank stifiener, said insole and said membereach having a molded line of break which coincides with the line ofbreak of the outsole.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I hereunto aflix my signature.

GUSTAVUS H. BOEHMER.

